Welcome to my blog. This blog is all about writing tips for writers and teachers of writing. Twice monthly, I will address one aspect of writing. I will also post tips about no-fee contests and calls for submissions by publishers.
If you would like to know more about me or my books, check out my website at www.nancykellyallen.com

Nancy's Books

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Writers need a
one-paragraph synopsis of the manuscript for the cover/query letter and a
one-page (or more, check guidelines for each publisher) synopsis for chapter
books and novels. I find a synopsis anything but easy to write. Condensing the
entire book into one paragraph or one page and retain the tone and voice of the
manuscript is simply difficult. That’s not all. The summary should be
intriguing, tantalizing, and irresistible in such a way the editor/agent wants
to read the manuscript. A tall order, I must say.

One way to get
an idea of what to write is to read blurbs on the jackets of books in a
bookstore or library. Read lots of them. On-line, search publishers' websites
and read book blurbs.

Let’s analyse a
synopsis.

The goal is to
introduce the characters and explain the basic overall plot in a few sentences.
Begin with the main character. Who is s/he before the story begins? (If you
don’t know this, interview your character to get to know him/her better).

What happened to
create a problem for the character (inciting incident)?

What is
preventing the character from attaining the goal? What made the plans fall
apart?

What is the
darkest moment, the time when it seems the character cannot possible achieve
the goal?

What is the resolution?
How does the character overcome the odds and prevail?

Next week, I’ll
continue with information about writing a synopsis.

Call
for Submissions for Young Writers:

I will resume providing
this information in September.

Call
for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Diverse
Books ContestIf you write MG and have a diverse background,
including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity,
people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities, you
may be interested in submitting a short story to We Need Diverse Books. They
are putting together an anthology of children’s literature to be published in
January 2107.

Phoebe Yeh, VP/Publisher of
Crown Books for Young Readers/Random House, has acquired publication rights to
this Middle Grade WNDB Anthology, working title “Stories For All Of Us.”

The anthology will be in memory
of Walter Dean Myers and it will be inspired by his quote: “Once I began to
read, I began to exist.” Every new story contribution to this anthology will be
by a diverse author.

WNDB is proud to announce that
the anthology will have one story reserved for a previously unpublished diverse
author. WNDB will fill that slot via a short story contest. The winner will be
included in the anthology and will receive a payment of $1000 US.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: The submission window is narrow, so if you want to submit you
should start writing and polishing, but you can not send it in until April 27th
2015 when they start accepting submissions. The window for submissions is only
open for 12 days (until 5:00PM EST on May 8th, 2015).

Short Story Rules

§All submissions (short
story or illustrated story) must be in English and never before published in
any medium, print or digital.

§All submissions must
also be appropriate for a middle grade audience, ages 8 to 12.

§If your submission is
illustrated, it must be in a graphic novel format, but no longer than 10
pages.

§Illustrations must be
submitted electronically. Do NOT mail hard copy submissions to WNDB. They will
not be reviewed, nor will they be returned.

Prizes

§First prize winner will
receive an award of $1000 plus their entry will be published as part of the
WNDB Anthology to be released by Crown Books for Young Readers/Random House
Children’s Books in January 2017.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Contact Me

Name

Email
*

Message
*

Liebster Award

About Me

My route to writing children’s books has more twists and turns than a winding mountain road. I worked as a social worker and traveled many a winding road, uphill and down, around Hazard, Kentucky. Later, I became an elementary school teacher, and then a school librarian. After spending days introducing books to children, I spent nights writing books for them. At this point I have written over 30 picture books, one chapter book, and one middle grade novel. I have a master’s degree in Education from Morehead State University and a master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky. Home is still in Kentucky in the log cabin in which I grew up. My husband, Larry, and I share our cabin with two canine writer assistants, Jazi and Roxi.